Multiple vehicles broken into at Knox County schools

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Ashley Mullins' Audi Q7 was broken into at Farragut Primary School on Tuesday while she attended a field trip with her son's first grade class. A Louis Vuitton cosmetic bag was stolen from the driver's side door.(Photo: Submitted)

Multiple cars have been broken into this week in Knox County school parking lots, including at Farragut Primary School and Northshore Elementary School.

The Knoxville Police Department responded to two incidents of theft from motor vehicles at Northshore Elementary on Monday, including one in which a wallet left in a vehicle was stolen, according to KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk.

Windows broken on vehicles

In that incident, the rear passenger side window of the targeted vehicle was broken sometime between 7:30-11:30 a.m. while the owner of the vehicle was inside the school, DeBusk said.

In the second incident, called in at 1:07 p.m., police responded to an attempted motor vehicle theft in which the front passenger side window of a vehicle parked on a side street next to the school was broken, according to DeBusk.

Sitting in the front seat was a purse. Expensive sunglasses also remained inside the vehicle, leading police to believe the perpetrator was scared off, DeBusk said.

No arrests have been made as KPD continues to investigate, he said.

Those incidents were trailed by vandalism to vehicles on Tuesday at Farragut Primary School, where the rear driver side window of Ashley Mullins' Audi Q7 was shattered.

She returned to her busted window around 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday after visiting Zoo Knoxville on a field trip with her son's first grade class.

"It kind of took me back for a second," Mullins said of realizing her car had been broken into. "I noticed that the glass was shattered."

A Louis Vuitton cosmetic bag that Mullins had left in her driver-side door was stolen, she said.

"Luckily, I didn't have too much in my car worth value," she said.

A school officer responded to the incident after a teacher ran to get him while Mullins also reached law enforcement by phone.

Another vehicle belonging to a teacher was broken into at Farragut Primary School, according to Mullins.

A purse was taken from the backseat, she said.

Mullins understands resources are limited at schools but she would like to see Knox County Schools beef up its security forces on campuses so that more than one officer is present throughout the school day.

DeBusk can't say with certainty that the motor vehicle thefts at Northshore Elementary and Farragut Primary School are related, but he believes the two incidents at Northshore Elementary are connected.

Typically, perpetrators will break into multiple vehicles in containing a lot of vehicles, like shopping centers, apartment complexes or schools.

Separate burglary at Walbrook Drive business

Another motor vehicle theft occurred on Oct. 23 at a Walbrook Drive business, according to a statement released by KPD on Wednesday.

Upon returning to her vehicle, a female found it had been broken into and that her purse had been stolen. The next day, an unknown suspect tried to use the victim's identification to cash a check made out to her, the statement noted.

An unknown suspect tried to cash a check that was made out to a woman whose car was recently burglarized and whose purse was stolen.(Photo: USATHO)

"The suspect was driving what is believed to be a newer model silver Nissan Rogue that possibly had some driver-side rear damage," the statement read.

It is not clear if the person trying to cash the check is male or female, according to DeBusk.

Nor is it clear if that person is the one who vandalized the victim's vehicle, he said.

The incident is likely not tied to any break-ins at schools this week, DeBusk said.

The suspect was driving what police believe to be a newer model silver Nissan Rogue that is possibly damaged on the rear of the driver's side.(Photo: USATHO)

No arrests have been made.

KPD has received multiple tips about the incident that it is following up on, but the department is still looking for help from the public, according to DeBusk, who directs anyone with information to share to KPD's crime information line at 865-215-7212 and its Facebook page, @KnoxvillePD.

Motor vehicle thefts down this year

Thefts from motor vehicles in Knoxville between Jan. 1 and Oct. 28 are down 10 percent this year, compared to the same time period last year, according to DeBusk.

Still, he stressed the importance of taking precautions to avoid being vandalized.

"You can lessen your chances of becoming a victim by taking some precautions before you get to wherever you're going," he said, explaining it's helpful to hide valuables in the trunk of a vehicle before arriving at a decided destination.

It's also crucial to ensure valuables, such as purses, laptops and cellphones are not left out in the open of a car or that drivers attempt to hide their valuables in their car, he said.

Additionally, as the holiday season approaches, DeBusk emphasizes that shoppers, especially those who head to stores on Black Friday, should avoid bringing their purchases out to their car and returning inside to stores so that perpetrators don't observe their items being unattended.

A good strategy for consumers wanting to head back inside stores, he said, involves dropping purchases off in a vehicle and then parking it in another area.